It was the stuff of nightmares for the fourth-richest family in Thailand: an early morning hit-and-run, a policeman whose dead body was dragged for blocks underneath the family car, a trail of motor oil leading the smashed-up Ferrari back to the scene of the crime, a 27-year-old heir nicknamed Boss who denied any wrongdoing, and a family driver exposed by police for attempting to take the blame.

The case would have been notable for its recklessness alone. But the fact that it involved Vorayuth Yoovidhya, grandson of the late billionaire founder of the Red Bull empire, made it even more salacious.

Front pages and internet posting forums were awash with the news on Tuesday in Thailand, where many commentators were questioning to what degree justice would be served in a case involving one of the world's richest families, in a nation known for its leniency towards those with money or connections, or both.

"Jail is only for the poor. The rich never get punished," read one comment on Pantip.com, a popular Thai website. "He will receive a suspended sentence and never do any jail time," wrote one Bangkok Post reader. "This is the only country in the world where you can kill cops and get away with it."

While other cases involving Thai elites – such as the underage, aristocratic driver who killed nine people after her vehicle collided with a passenger van – have recently ended in nothing more than a temporary driving ban, Thai police took to the airwaves Tuesday to squash any notions that this particular case would be shelved because of the Red Bull name.

"Do not worry that the case will end up with leniency simply because it involves a wealthy family," police commissioner Anuchai Lekbamroong told Thai radio news programme 100.5FM. "The police will make the decision based on evidence. Everything the police do is being scrutinised by the public."

It is true that all eyes are on both investigators and their suspect, Vorayuth, who goes by the nickname Boss. Despite initially fleeing the scene of the crime, Vorayuth was incriminated after witnesses described a dark Ferrari slamming into a police motorcycle around 5.30am in the upmarket central Bangkok neighbourhood of Thong Lor. Both the motorcycle and its driver were dragged for some 200 metres before the driver sped off towards a gated estate owned by the Red Bull family. There, police found Vorayuth's £646,000 charcoal Ferrari, its bonnet dented and windshield smashed, as well as a security log book noting the heir had left the house just minutes before the accident.

While Vorayuth later admitted to police that he had hit the policeman, he told investigators the man had abruptly cut in front of him. He was charged with reckless driving and failing to stop or inform authorities – a potential 10-year jail sentence – and released on 500,000-baht [£10,100] bail. It was unclear what the results of his blood alcohol test were.

The Yoovidhya family, named this year as the fourth richest in Thailand by Forbes magazine, has offered to pay for the late policeman's funeral. The suspect's grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, was worth an estimated £3.4bn before his death in March, and left behind a variety of businesses, including the popular Siam Winery, as well as shares in hospitals, real estate and Red Bull itself. He created the energy drink in partnership with the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987.

In a seeming show of professionalism, Bangkok's top police official, Lt Gen Comronwit Toopgrajank, has personally taken on the case after he discovered that the local police superintendent had tried to "manipulate the situation" by arresting a bogus suspect – the family driver – who allegedly claimed that he had been behind the wheel of the Ferrari.

"A policeman is dead. I can't let this stand," Comronwit told reporters. "If I let this case get away, I'd rather quit. I don't care how powerful [the family] are. If I can't get the actual man in this case, I will resign."

Vorayuth could face more serious charges than reckless driving, if evidence points to an intent to cause death, Comronwit said.

Such comments have done little to dispel the doubt many Thais feel towards the judicial system here, however.

"The sad thing [is], if the death had been anyone else (not a policeman), it would have gone unchallenged," wrote one reader on the Bangkok Post website.